'Repeated, deliberate and malicious spread of misinformation' was threatening to block a move to alert level 1, says Health Minister Chris Hipkins. Video / Pool
The Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship church has spent years spreading the word of God without finding its name in the headlines.
But that changed this week.
Health authorities on Wednesday admitted members of the fundamentalist church hadn't always played their part in helping stem a Covid-19 outbreak among its congregation, which has now infected 46 people.
In particular, one infectious church member - who was supposed to be home in isolation - was revealed to have visited a mourning family during Auckland's level 3 lockdown.
That trip created a new sub-cluster of infections that has now spread to other parts of the community.
New Zealand's move to alert level 1 could now be in jeopardy as a result, meaning millions of ordinary Kiwis face potentially more economic pain.
"We can still eliminate Covid-19 again, but it does rely on those who are asked to isolate to isolate," University of Auckland infectious diseases specialist Dr Siouxsie Wiles said.
The saga has also landed the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship church in the position it seems to like the least - the public spotlight.
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said on Thursday church leaders were now co-operating with contact tracing teams.
The church property at 34C Stoddard Place is valued at $14.2m. Photo / Alex Burton
Church members have said, off the record, they were fully co-operating with health authorities, and many had been tested for Covid-19 multiple times.
However, the church's leadership is yet to make any official public comment.
That vacuum of information has led to inevitable public questions about its beliefs and actions.
Former Massey University religious historian Dr Peter Lineham says the church appears to be "pretty fundamentalist, believing in the Bible very literally".
Former members have described it as tight-knit, secretive and highly devout.
The Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship Trust set up to manage the church's finances was established in 1995, according to Charities Office documents.
The church was founded "to foster Christian growth and spirituality according to the scriptures", the trust's deed says.
Five of the original seven trustees were still trustees on March 31 last year: senior pastor Errol Montgomery Ngatai, John Henry, Glen Taka, Kelly Vogel and Robert Vogel.
The church also had a healthy balance sheet, pulling in $2.5 million in income last financial year.
That was made up of $1.8m in offerings from its 332-member congregation and $617,000 in rental income from its former industrial property at 34C Stoddard Place, Mt Roskill, valued at $14.2m.
It also boasts strong links to NRL team The Warriors.
Former Warriors players Jerry Seuseu, Jerome Ropati and Ben Henry are counted among its members.
Members of the church also play a pivotal part in running the Bay Roskill Rugby League Club.
Media personality Duncan Garner, whose son played for the club's junior team, has leapt to the church's defence.
He said church members were honest, hardworking folk and close friends, and senior pastor Errol "Monty" Ngatai had a great sense of humour.
All church members and trustees contacted by the Herald have been polite but firm in their insistence of giving no comment.
Few New Zealanders would have given much thought about the church when they first learned on August 26 of Covid cases occurring among the congregation.
On that day, Bloomfield said health teams had a new "area of interest" because five church members had tested positive to Covid-19 in the previous two to three days.
Little else was said about the cluster or church during the press conference.
Over the next four days, 18 people from the church went on to test positive.
As Auckland moved out of alert level 3 into alert level 2.5 from August 30, the positive cases from the cluster slowed for a few days.
Church members - who had been at three church events as well as a wedding understood to be that of the son of former Warriors' player Jerry Seuseu before the lockdown started - were asked to come forward for tests.
Most thought the church was co-operating and there was little reason for alarm.
Covid-19 can strike any community and there is no shame in contracting the virus.
However, behind the scenes, contact tracing teams were being met with resistance. Two days after Bloomfield's announcement on August 28, some members weren't co-operating.
As well as meeting on Sundays, church members were also understood to regularly meet in smaller groups during the week at family homes under the direction of different pastors and elders.
A source said this decentralised structure had caused headaches for contract tracers.
"The contact tracing teams were not able to engage fully with the congregation, there seemed to have been some gatekeepers who wouldn't allow the teams in to try and get at everyone that was exposed," the source said.
It was not until August 29 that a breakthrough was reached when Māori and Pacific health teams negotiated with church leaders.
Nurses and other healthcare workers from within the church were also instrumental in helping convince church members of the seriousness of Covid-19.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins later said resistance from the church group was based on a false belief that Covid-19 wasn't real, something he said had to be stamped out as much as the virus itself.
Yet the troubles weren't over; news surfaced this week of a new sub-cluster of 13 Covid cases.
That was caused by a Mt Roskill church member who visited the home of a bereaved family on August 27.
The person had been tested before their visit that day, and the result was pending.
As a close contact of another positive case, they should have been in isolation for 14 days even if they tested negative.
The visit also might have broken level 3 rules requiring people to stay within their household bubbles - but the Government is not looking to take enforcement action.
The Government has instead moved to a multi-pronged approach to ensure ongoing co-operation from the church members and the sub-cluster.
That has involved support from police, Māori and Pasifika health officials, community leaders, and Ministers Peeni Henare, Aupito William Sio and Jenny Salesa, as well as home visits and daily phone calls to ensure people are staying at home.
The Mt Roskill church's leadership has responded by committing to getting all of its members retested by Friday.
The underlying message the Herald received from the church in its interactions was that its members were co-operating with health teams.
Beyond that it wasn't concerned with what outsiders thought. Its members knew what they were and weren't doing, and God would be the ultimate judge of their actions.
